Why mobile display advertising could become bigger than marketing disciplines

thedrum.com

Modern technological developments continue to revolutionize the manner in which information is shared. Different fields are expected to benefit significantly from these technological changes. One of these fields is that of marketing and advertising. Contemporary methods of advertisement have made it possible for both small and large businesses to realize their potentials. These advertisement avenues have been vital for the commercial survival and success of many organizations. Mobile Display Advertising, a modern equivalent of contemporary methods of advertising, is becoming an accepted form of marketing and because of its healthy organic model it could become a bigger marketing discipline than SEO/SEA.

Here’s why:

For many years, marketers have used both SEO and SEA to realize their business potentials. Companies and marketers using these forms of marketing have recorded considerable results. However, these marketing disciplines are currently associated with a number of obstacles that suggest a new shift to better avenues. Mainly because advertisers find it increasingly harder to create a positive return of investment. Simply put: the cost of SEA campaigns is most often higher than its profits. The situation continues to encourage marketers and advertisers to identify better alternatives.

SEO is also associated with various limitations. SEO is considered profitable but has its limits in terms of marketing budget that can be allocated for search engine results (improvements in rankings). It’s considered a long-tail marketing-discipline and investments made, take a long time to return in the form of revenue. Simply put: SEO has it’s limits and is difficult to scale.

With these issues in place, experts have been focusing on new marketing strategies and disciplines in order to deliver positive results. One of the new alternatives, gaining worldwide traction, is Mobile Display Advertising (MDA). In the recent past, MDA has become more noticeable and evident as SEA/SEO. Many cases and research suggest that, in general, ROI’s are high. However, a detailed analysis shows conclusively that Mobile Display Advertising is still unknown to many advertisers and marketers while it’s considered a scalable model that is here to stay.

Mobile display has earned a major share of attention because of its increasing digital spend – estimates vary but 2016 is going to top 100 billion (several analyses show). Despite the fact that mobile advertising is seen as a major challenge by many marketers; mainly because of it’s complexity at first hand, MDA spends has been increasing rapidly. With this kind of growth, the ecosystem has come up with both challenges and opportunities. The opportunities associated with targeted mobile display campaigns explain why marketers should be ready to seize the opportunity. There is a huge amount of mobile inventory. This is because everybody in the world is on his phone all the time. This means people are visiting sites and apps. In those apps and sites can be advertised.

There are various formats and creative technologies that define the modern mobile platform. The proliferation of mobile display formats has emerged thereby creating actionable ads and with that, new opportunities. The market is becoming more professional; companies specialize in making cheap but professional banners that are pleasant for consumers. Many professionals encourage marketers to create mobile-centered banners that support a pleasant user experience. From video-banners to expandable formats, the MDA market is evolving rapidly.

It is also notable that some mobile marketing tools have numerous limitations. Some tools such as beacon technology have been characterized by various challenges. This is the case because Beacon technology is based on a Opt-in model. Pop-up ads have (f.e.) their limitations because the targeted consumer needs to have downloaded the app in question to receive these.

Many publishers (e.g. news companies) have created mobile apps that can distribute the intended content to more viewers. Within these apps can be advertised. These banners have the capability to create room for numerous interactions and communications. Some of the banners have the potential to initiate instant messages or phone calls. Rich media ads are customized depending on the needs of the advertiser. Another tactic associated with the MDA concept is the use of expandables. These formats can be considered as pleasant because action is required to view the full ad.

Real-time-bidding (RTB) is a relatively new business mechanism whereby advertising inventory is sold based on a per-impression basis in an auction model. Bidding occurs real-time thereby making it possible for the buyer’s ad to be displayed instantly on the website. This form of MDA is gained much attention because of it’s various (targeting) possibilities. Demand-side platforms (DSP) are systems that make it feasible for advertisers to manage data and multiple exchange accounts through a single interface.

The number of mobile apps and websites allowing ads in their content is a new wave characterizing the world of marketing. Such platforms make it possible for more visitors of the mobile websites and users of specific apps to become potential consumers of the intended information. Social media is (logically) also widely present on mobile devices. Facebook is currently being used by billeions of people in different parts of the world. The visitation by people of apps and mobile websites account for a very large portion of mobile traffic. Mobile Display Advertising is the most simple, scalable and organic marketingmodel which utilizes this huge amount of mobile traffic. In this sense ‘scalable’ and ‘organic’ refer to a model that has been around for decades if not centuries. Advertising in a newspaper or on television needs a publisher to carry that advertisement. For a newspaper for example, ads remain the biggest form of revenue. MDA can be described as the modern equivalent of advertising in newspapers or on TV. Simply because of the fact that billions of people visit and use apps and mobile websites which are owned by, let’s say; publishers (whom need to be profitable). suggests a modern duplicate of an established ecosystem of advertising that is here to stay.

MDA is a powerful model capable of transforming mobile advertising. It can be described as organic model because it’s viable and scalable for advertisers, it generates revenue for publishers and legal obstacles seem small. The MDA model is healthy and has the potential to transform the performance of many businesses. Research and the apparent growth of MDA suggests that it will become a bigger marketingtool than SEA and SEO are currently considered.